REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- Team Redstone hosted a Hispanic Heritage Month observance Oct. 7 at Marshall Space Flight Center.
Dr. Ellen Ochoa, former NASA astronaut, the first Hispanic female in space, and current director of NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, served as the keynote speaker.
Introducing the theme of the event, "Hispanics: A legacy of history, a present of action and a future of success," Teresa Vanhooser, deputy director of Marshall, kicked off the event.
"The theme is evident with NASA and our military," Vanhooser said. "Fourteen astronauts add names and faces to the legacy of Hispanic contributions made to the American space program. Five of those 14 Hispanic astronauts are also retired service members. It's this legacy that we build on today."
Ochoa, a second generation immigrant, said she reached for and realized the American dream, becoming a Ph.D., an engineer, and the world's first female Hispanic astronaut. She used the advancements in space exploration to denote the milestones in her life.
"I was 11 when the Apollo 11 mission happened, and no one would have asked a girl at that time if she wanted to grow up and be an astronaut. It simply wasn't a career open to women," Ochoa said.
Fortunately by the time Ochoa finished her undergraduate degree, she made two decisions that got her much closer to the idea of being an astronaut one day. The first was getting a degree; the second was majoring in a technical field.
In 1978, the astronaut program included the first women and minority astronauts.
"As a woman of Hispanic heritage, my own grandparents coming from Mexico, believe me, this was quite an event," she said.
Ochoa went on to receive her master's of science degree and doctorate in electrical engineering from Stanford University in 1981 and 1985, respectively.
"In 1983, Sally Ride flew for the first time, the first woman in space. I looked at her. She had also gone to Stanford; she also had a background in physics," Ochoa said. "It was all of those things coming together that gave me the idea that the astronaut career was something that I not only would really love to do but might actually be possible."
Eight years later, Ochoa was accepted into NASA's astronaut program. She would go on to log more the 950 hours in space.
Today, Ochoa is the director of one of NASA's premier facilities, the Johnson Space Center, also known as mission control. She is the first woman in this position.
Before concluding, Ochoa reminded the audience of space campers and Team Redstone employees that the same diversity still exists today.
The event also included a sampling of various Latin and Hispanic food, traditional dance performance and music.
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